Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Horror Subgenre: Lynchian Insanity

A good horror movie can be judged by whether you would A) watch it alone and B) with the lights out. At first glance, you wouldn’t expect Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me to be considered a horror movie. But trust me; I will NEVER watch this movie by myself in the dark. It has all the elements of a conventional horror film – mysterious serial killer, teens in trouble, a touch of the supernatural – but they’re employed in such mindbending, quirky ways, the movie transcends horror to become a character study of a flawed family.

I’ve been a huge fan of the TV series since it debuted in 1990. Heavy stuff for an 11-year-old, I know. I was captivated by the otherworldly elements and the quintessential performance of Kyle McLachlin as Agent Cooper. When the movie was released in ’92, I called around to every theater in my area to find it. By that time, the show had been canceled due to plummeting ratings and time shifts, and no one in Ohio was playing it. In fact, I remember one of the theater employees saying, “Twin Peaks? Isn’t that a TV show? We play movies here.” When it eventually came out on video, I picked it up and, despite being a die-hard fan, hated it. I think a lot of people felt the same way. I realize now I was too young to appreciate the themes Lynch was working with. The tone of the film is much heavier than the TV show, and it’s practically devoid of humor. Having perspective, I can appreciate the vision of Fire Walk With Me, and recognize it as a great horror film.

At the heart of it is Laura Palmer, the doomed protagonist whose life is a waking nightmare. Fire Walk With Me follows the last seven days of her life as she struggles to balance her Prom Queen image against a demanding father, drug addictions, and sex with many, many people. Everyone knows the fate of Laura Palmer. It was the main conceit of the TV show. That makes this movie that much more tragic, but it doesn’t unfold in conventional ways. The story is laid out in a surreal vision of midgets, monkeys, creamed corn, and creepy paintings. There’s a certain incoherence to every David Lynch movie that subconsciously plays with your perceptions, bathing the story in a sense of unease. You might not be to able to explain everything that’s happening, but you know it’s making you feel really weird. For instance, David Bowie is in this movie for one scene. And in that scene, he tells a story that really doesn’t make sense, then vanishes into thin air, never to be mentioned again. Huh? It’s irrelevant but effectively creepy.

This whole time and I haven’t even mentioned BOB the killer. Bob is essentially a metaphor for the evil that men do. He inhabits people’s souls and forces them to perform unspeakable acts, sometimes without their knowledge. This compounds the tragedy of the situation when you realize who Laura’s killer is, and adds a layer of complexity most horror movies lack. Before watching this movie, it helps to have knowledge of the TV series, particularly the first 17 episodes. If you’ve never seen the show, Fire Walk With Me is still an terrifying exercise in surreal horror as only David Lynch can do it.

Must-See Scene: The heart-wrenching finale which sets in motion the entire run of the television series. In the end, Laura Palmer’s is freed from a tragic life by allowing herself to be killed. It’s heartbreaking and horrific, yet somehow you leave the film with a sense of relief.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 10:59 am and is filed under Film, Horror Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.